The 94th Annual Hunger Games
by thebunnylikestosaygoshness
Summary: When Peeta died for Katniss in their 74th Annual Hunger Games, everything was different. The 75th Hunger Games was not for the past victors, there was no rebellion, and Katniss got to be what the Capitol guaranteed: a mentor. Now in Katniss' 20th year of mentoring, what will happen? Drama? Check. Tears? Check. Romance? We'll see...
1. CHAPTER 1: PRE-REAPING

Title: The 94th Annual Hunger Games

Based on: Hunger Games

Narrator: Katniss Everdeen

Summary: Let's say Peeta Mellark had died to let Katniss live in the 74th Hunger Games, and there was no rebellion. The 75th Hunger Games was not for past victors, and Katniss goes on to be a mentor for District 12 along with Haymitch Abernathy.

CHAPTER 1: PRE-REAPING

Beep... beep... beep...

I rolled over in my bed and slammed my alarm clock with my palm, shutting it up. "Happy Hunger Games... and may the odds be ever in your favor," I mimicked to the ceiling, stressing the word ever. Effie Trinket's unusual high-pitched voice and accent has always stuck in the back of my head, but every year in the reaping, her voice is all I can think about. Major hallucinations.

The sound of small feet thumping against the tile floors around my house (or should I say, mansion) woke me up completely. I braced myself for the screeching that was to come. Absolutely, positively.

"Auntie! Auntie Katniss!" shrieked little Eva, Prim's youngest child. Eva barged in my room and lurched herself into my open arms. "Good morning, Auntie Katniss!"

"Good morning, kiddo," I murmured into her ear, stroking her hair. I broke our embrace and looked deeply into my skinny little niece's blue, blue eyes, just like I did to Prim when she was a girl. Doing this, I got a wave of bittersweetness. Prim was all grown up now, a beautiful strong woman, married with children. If it hadn't been for Eva, who resembles her mother unbelievably as a child, I don't know how I would've coped with the fact that Prim didn't need me as much as she used to anymore.

Eva gave me her well-known toothless grin. "Auntie Katniss, Mommy's going crazy!" she declared, bursting into giggles.

"Is she now?" I said, concerned. Of course Prim was going crazy. It was her eldest child's first reaping. "What's going on?"

"She tried to milk Lyla's goat but accidentally knocked the full bucket over, so we don't have milk today. Then Rob ripped his collar on his white shirt, and she tried to mend it, but..." Eva rambled on and on as I got up, lead us both downstairs into the kitchen, and prepared a hefty breakfast for my guest.

"Come on, you goose, eat up," I said, placing a bowl of cereal of rare cow milk and Frosted Flakes, a special cereal only the rich can afford; a huge stack of microwaved pancakes with butter and maple syrup; a piece of toast; and a glass of hand-squeezed orange juice in front of her.

Eva giggled again. "Silly! I can't eat all this!"

I smiled faintly to see someone so joyous. Usually on reaping days, everyone is usually either very serious or in a huge frenzy. But of course, Eva, at the age of five and a half, still does not quite see the misery in Twelve. "Eat as much as you can, sweetie," I prodded, knowing that Prim's family didn't have much to eat, since her husband was just another ordinary low-class coal miner raising a family of six.

Eva dug in, and I asked, "How's your mommy's new job, Eva?" Prim had recently gotten a part-time job at a local clinic near the town square to make some money for her family. The clinic was new, just under six years ago since it opened.

Through a mouthful of pancakes, Eva replied, "She doesn't say much about it. I have to stay home alone sometimes, though. No one's at home to take care of me from noon to three. Then Rob, Lew, and Lyla all come home from school to take care of me."

"So I heard." I knew that Eva could be a bundle of fun mostly, but she is smart enough to take care of herself. Ever since she's been required to stay at home alone three hours a day, three days a week, she hasn't had so much as a paper cut. "Done, Eva?" She nodded vigorously, looking satisfied with her full belly.

Of course, Eva didn't finish the entire breakfast I had set up for her, so I covered the remaining pancakes and untouched toast in plastic wrap and told Eva to wait while I made myself presentable. Then we both headed out hand-in-hand to Eva's home, or shack, at the Seam, each carrying a plate.

"Good morning, Thompsons," I called out, letting myself in through their battered screen door. I ducked under the doorway.

"Katniss?" Prim came out of the nearer of the two rooms, dragging Rob, the twelve-year-old, who seemed very irritated and too clean, behind her. Eva dropped my hand and ran to her mom. "Hey, honey! Did you go to your auntie Katniss' house without asking me again?"

Eva tittered nervously. "Umm... I love you, Mommy!"

"Love you too, dear," Prim said, planting a kiss on the top of her head. "Why don't you go get some breakfast?" She saw the plates I was holding. "Or did you eat already?"

"I ate, Mommy."

"So I see. Well, go play with Lyla for a while, okay, dear?"

"Okay, Mommy." She dashed off.

I set the food I brought for Prim's family on their kitchen table, which was also where the older kids do their homework and artwork, Prim does her needlework, and Prim's husband, Lare, plays cards with some of his coal miner friends, whom Prim hardly approves of.

"I hope Eva wasn't a handful," Prim said to me, fussing over Rob's mended outfit, which he was wearing. "Today just wasn't a good day for me - turn around a sec, Rob, dear - and I lost track of Eva. I didn't know she was gone until about fifteen minutes before you two arrived, so -"

"It's okay, Prim," I said, rubbing her shoulder affectionately. "Really. Eva was fine. And... Mother used to be frantic sometimes, too, on reaping days. Remember?"

Prim froze at the mention of our mom. Mother had died just four months ago from skin cancer. She'd been living with Prim and the family when she got terribly sick, and even with all my victor money, we couldn't afford any of the Capitol medication that she needed. So within only three weeks since she was diagnosed, she passed on.

"Prim? Are you okay?" I said quietly, mentally scolding myself for bringing back these painful memories that Prim had been trying so hard to move on from.

She took a deep breath. Lew, Prim's second-eldest child, age ten, said, "Mom?" with concern, as he walked in the room to get the toast I had brought.

"I - I'm fine."

She didn't seem so. "Prim, if you want to, I can -"

"I'm fine," she said to me firmly. Seeing that his mother was back to normal, Lew left with the toast. Prim looked at Rob. "Your collar looks okay now, dear. Take good care of it."

Take good care of it? For five hours? It was only nine o'clock, for heaven's sake. The reaping doesn't start until two. I reminded Prim of that.

"Oh, all right. Rob, you may change into your everyday clothes - carefully, dear," Prim compromised. Before she even finished her sentence, Rob disappeared, leaving my sister and I alone.

"Well, I brought breakfast," I said to lighten up the mood. "And I thought I'd treat you and Lare and the kids to an early lunch later. In celebration of this year's Games."

Prim smiled sadly at me. "At least Rob doesn't seem as nervous as I am about the reaping" was her reply.


	2. CHAPTER 2: REAPING

Title: The 94th Annual Hunger Games

Based on: Hunger Games

Narrator: Katniss Everdeen

Summary: Let's say Peeta Mellark had died to let Katniss live, and there was no rebellion. The 75th Hunger Games was not for past victors, and Katniss goes on to be a mentor for District 12 along with Haymitch Abernathy.

CHAPTER 2: REAPING

It was time. I was sitting next to my good ol' drunken pal, Haymitch, and the mayor, Mayor Hawthorne, who was Gale's long-forgotten second-cousin's son. Effie Trinket, who hadn't changed a bit except for her bizarre outfit and makeup, was at the microphone, giving a boring "special" speech from the Capitol. Mayor Hawthorne already gave his speech, welcoming the 94th Annual Hunger Games.

My eyes scanned the crowd, the entire population of District 12. My old friend, Madge, was standing alone way in the back. She never married or had any kids, like me. We still talk sometimes, but more on the phone these days. Towards the center of the crowd, I spotted Prim and Lare and their three youngest kids, who weren't elligible for the reapings yet. Near them were Gale and his wife, Bree. I remembered with a pang that their only child, a thirteen-year-old girl whom I've only seen about two times at the most, had her name in the reaping bowl. I bit my lower lip nervously, trying to block out more bad memories...

_It was after my Games, even after my Victory Tour. I was depressed and couldn't have a proper good night's sleep without nightmares, so I was always a wreck. Never presentable, unless Octavia, Flavius, and Venia were around. But they couldn't always be. And unfortunately, a month after I came back from the Victory Tour, Gale began to be interested in me despite the state I was in, not in a hey-we're-just-friends-right way, and actually kissed me on the cheek a few times. Then a year after that, he proposed to me, but I said no, in honor of Peeta, who had died for me. Peeta was the one I chose._

"...and here are our two mentors, Haymitch Abernathy and Katniss Everdeen!" Effie screamed into the microphone. I cringed. "Would you please give them a round of applause?" I forced my lips to smile, since the cameras were aimed at Haymitch and me for sure, for the whole Capitol and districts to see.

As I stood up to wave, Gale's and my eyes made contact. Gale's expression was hard to understand. It was stern, proud, sad, expectant, and questioning all at once. I looked away quickly and sat back down.

Then it's time for the drawing of the names once more. As always, Effie chirped, "Ladies first!" and headed to the girls' reaping bowl. She made a dramatic show of circling her hands around the inside of the bowl, swaying and wiggling her fingers. I looked down at the floor of the podium, getting a sense of deja vu. Exactly twenty years ago at this time, Prim's name was reaped and I had volunteered. Suddenly, I found it hard to breathe. Haymitch sneaked a swig of the beer bottle he hid in the inside of his jacket.

"This year's District 12 girl tribute is..." Effie paused, even more dramatically. I could feel the tension in the whole crowd. There was absolutely no movement. "...Faye Hawthorne."

Faye Hawthorne? Faye _Hawthorne_? Could it be... Gale's Faye Hawthorne? One look at Gale and Bree and I know for sure it's the Faye Hawthorne I've laid my eyes on.

"Faye Hawthorne!" Effie called out to the crowd. I tried to look for Faye, poor Faye. A second later, she was bravely coming up the stage, her face set. In the crowd, her mother was fiercely trying not to cry and Gale was looking everywhere except the stage. While I was in the process of shifting my gaze to Prim and Lare, I caught sight of Rob quickly wiping his face, but I couldn't figure out why. He was looking at the ground. I raised my eyebrows at Lare. He just shook his head slightly. Oh well.

Effie asked for any volunteers, and of course there weren't any. Then she congratulated Faye and headed to the boys' reaping bowl, doing the same dramatic hand gestures. She pulled out a name, and all I could do was hope and pray the slip of paper did not say Robert Thompson.

"...Floyd Ralph!"

Whew.

Floyd Ralph was a tall, lanky kid who looked about fifteen. Sadly, he did not look capable to lift a five-pound dumbbell easily. He even tripped going up the stage, which didn't seem like a good sign.

"Whoops!" Effie cried, bursting into a batch of annoying sniggers. She helped Flody steady himself. "Any volunteers for Floyd Ralph?" None. "And here are our tributes of District Twelve for the 94th Annual Hunger Games! Faye Hawthorne and Floyd Ralph! Let's give them a hand!" There's an applause, but it's solemn and depressing as people let out sighs of relief and give the two kids up on stage sympathetic looks.

Both tributes are lead inside the Justice building to have their hour of goodbyes. Haymitch and I follow them but go to other rooms inside the building. Just before the doors closed behind us, I took one last look at Prim and Gale.


	3. CHAPTER 3: GOODBYES

CHAPTER 3: Goodbyes

Before I was in the Games and even while I was in the Games, I didn't know that mentors had their hour of goodbyes as well. Over the years, I learned that no one ever came in to say goodbye to Haymitch, but every year the same people come in to say goodbye to me in my own room. But this year, there was a slight twist.

Prim and Lare came in first with their kids, and we had a group hug, but after a moment I realized Rob was not with us.

"Hey," I said, pulling away. "What happened to Rob?"

"He went to go talk with Gale's daughter, May or something," Lare replied. He looked kind of smug but sad at the same time. "He has a thing for her."

Oh, that was what was going on with Rob earlier. "Really?" I said, not sure whether to smile or not. "And her name is Faye, not May."

"Right."

Lyla suddenly talked about her goat, Princess Blossom (which I privately think is a ridiculous name), out of the blue. I pretended to be listening, but in reality, I was thinking about Rob.

Lare read my mind. He looked uncomfortable. He waited until Lyla finished before he spoke up. "Katniss, Rob'll talk with you after we leave. Katniss, um..."

I sighed. "I know. Rob will probably ask me to look out for Faye, and if I don't, he'll never forgive me. I'm trying to decide what to do, since I got a boy tribute in my hands too." I chuckled. "I don't think Haymitch will give me a hand this year either."

Eva crawled into my lap just as a Peacekeeper shouted into my room, "You got sixty seconds!" I rolled my eyes but still give everyone one last hug.

"Princess Blossom will miss you, Auntie," Lyla said softly.

I patted the girl's head. She was so imaginitive and dramatic. "Well, give your goat a hug for me, all right?" She nodded.

"Katniss," Prim whispered in my ear as we hugged, "please. Try to do as Rob asks. And... stay out of trouble."

"I'll do the best I can, Prim," I promised.

"Goodbye, Auntie Katniss," Eva said next. "I'll miss you."

"I'll be back as soon as I can, you little duck," I said, giving everyone reassuring smiles. "Well... see ya." They left.

Sure enough, Rob came in next. "Aunt Katniss," he said gruffly, looking at the fancy carpeting, "could you do a favor for me?"

I studied him carefully. His eyelids were a light shade of pink, and a little puffy too. I said tentatively, "What sort of favor?"

Rob took a deep breath. "Could you bring Faye back home?"

Whoa.

"Bring Faye back home?" I exclaimed. That was a huge thing to ask from anyone in my position. "Rob, I don't know about that..."

"Kat - I mean, Aunt Katniss," he said desperately. I looked into his eyes deeply. None of Prim's children had ever called me by just my first name except for Rob sometimes when he was really angry, because Prim found it disrespectful. But this time, he didn't seem angry. He looked ready to burst into tears. "Please. Or can I go to the Capitol with you? Can I take that other guy's place?"

"Rob, no," I said firmly. "I'll try my best to bring Faye home, but that's not a guarantee. And I forbid you from coming to the Capitol with me. I bet your mother will forbid that too, and so does the Capitol. You're to stay here, and that's final."

Rob glared at me, then looked away.

I said gently and quietly, "Rob, I know what a... girl..." No. Those weren't the right words. I started over. "I know what you're feeling, Rob. I know what it can do to you. Look at what Peeta did. I don't want you to go the same way." My stomach turned as I mentioned Peeta. When Rob didn't say anything, I went on, "Your mother's first love was your father, and she had you at just the age of nineteen." Nineteen wasn't such a young age to have a baby at District 12, but I was still overprotective of Prim then. "Good thing my mother approved of your dad," I joked lightly.

Rob didn't breathe a word. We sat next to each other silently, deep in thought.

"Sixty seconds!" the Peacekeeper called.

I glanced at Rob and held my arms wide, and he accepted my hug. He snuggled his face on my shoulder, and I swear I felt a tear drip.

I didn't say it was going to be okay, because it wasn't. I didn't say Faye would be in good shape, because she wouldn't. But I did say again that I would give all I got to bring Faye home. Rob let out a little "Mm-hmm," said, "Bye, Aunt Katniss," and slowly walked out the room, not glancing back.

For a moment I thought I was going to spend the rest of my goodbye hour alone, but I thought wrong. To my despair and shock, Bree came in.

"Hello, Bree," I said, sounding confused and questioning. I offered her the seat across from me.

She took it and smoothed out her red skirt nervously. She didn't say anything for a minute or two.

I glanced at the doors and reminded her, "We have a small amount of time, Bree."

Bree simply nodded, still quiet. Oh well. I tried. I couldn't force her to talk to me.

Something shined on her tight white blouse, and I saw it was a gold brooch in the shape of a rose. Real gold, I bet. Bree's grandparents, still in shape despite their age, ran the one of the two bookstores in District 12, and they make a lot of money, especially at the beginning of the school year and during the holidays. I heard her parents were gonna take over the bookstore very soon since her grandparents were getting to be too old. When Gale married Bree, he agreed to quit his coal miner job and moved to town with her, which was baffling to me. Gale has always been a kid from the Seam, never cooperating with the town kids, but I guessed he loved Bree enough to defy his own self. However, Prim once told me that Gale goes back into the woods from time to time. So I asked Bree about that.

"How's Gale?" I asked. I lowered my voice. "Visitin' the trees still?"

She shrugged and said something for the first time. "He went about two weeks ago. But he hasn't since."

"That's nice," I said, nodding. "I still go about once or twice a week," I went on, as if she didn't know.

"I heard," she said, confirming my suspicions. "From Gale," she added.

I decided to go on with our topic. "I took Rob with me a couple months ago. He liked it, but was too scared to go alone. And I usually like to go on my own, so I haven't taken him much."

"Gale takes Faye from time to time," she whispered. Aha! Finally we get to Faye. "She loves it."

There was no point in beating around the bush anymore. I took Bree's hand and said seriously, "I'm sorry this had to happen to Faye, Bree."

She burst into tears. Her shoulders shook. I patted her back comfortingly and tried to make her feel better, but that was impossible. Soon she had to go. I gave her a quick hug without saying anything.

Lastly, Gale came in. Like he did twenty years ago, he hugged me as soon as he came in. This brought tears to my eyes. He hadn't hugged me in so many years.

"Gale -" I started to say, but he cut me off.

"Sh..." he whispered. He lead us to the chairs. We sat down side-by-side, which was a little awkward. He faced me directly. Suddenly his softness disappeared and he was serious. "We don't have any time to waste," he said. "I need you to protect Faye for me."

I tried not to look exasperate. "You're the third person who asked, Gale. And I'm gonna give you the same answer as the other two: I'm gonna try my best, I really will, but I cannot absolutely guarantee -"

"I know you can't, Katniss," Gale snapped before I even finished my sentence. "That's why I want to talk about other things. Sponsors, for one."

Duh. Why hadn't I thought about that?

Gale went on to talk about my personality, to get lots of sponsors. Apparently he had already talked with Faye about that. "Since you're still known as the Girl on Fire, you should act sassy. Firey, you know? Then get to the subject of money right away, so you can get a lot of sponsors for Faye so she can survive and come back alive." He also talked about training her throughtout the week of prepping. "And the rest Faye knows," he concluded. He got up and left.

I stared at the doors as it closed and continued staring at it. What would happen if Gale were a mentor? There'd be more victors from District 12 for sure, I decided bitterly. I hadn't brought home a single victor since I became mentor. Knowing that, I made myself a vow for this year's Games. I would think like Gale, and make my choices like Gale. If I did exactly that, I may have increased my chances of being a successful mentor.


	4. CHAPTER 4: TRAIN RIDE

CHAPTER 4: TRAIN RIDE

Haymitch, Faye, Floyd, and I were escorted to a car to a train by Effie, with about a million cameras aimed directly at us. Haymitch had either dozed off or been knocked out with all that alcohol, so he had to be dragged to both transportations. Our new tributes kept their eyes at the ground, only looking up occasionally when there's a sudden noise or a microphone is being shoved in their face for the cameras. I tried to stay in the background, but of course that's impossible. I'm the only current living mentor, considering that Haymitch is almost always half-dead.

I was the first to get on the train to escape the cameras. They just brought back memories of when I was a tribute myself, which never did any good. I glanced at Faye and Floyd and tried not to imagine how they must be feeling.

The doors behind us closed, and my tributes turned to face me. Floyd wasn't shy to show his awe of all the designs and architecture of the train, but Faye kept her face blank. By the way she was tapping her feet, she seemed to be a little scared or homesick.

Effie headed directly to a room and closed the door, and Haymitch was carried to a fancy bathroom. I sighed. I had to do the job of touring the tributes to their rooms this year. "All right, guys," I said nonchalantly, leading them down a familiar hallway, "you each get a room of your own. Any room in this hallway." I reminded myself strictly that I should not bond with any of them, or I'd be brokenhearted if they died. I had learned that the hard way. "Do whatever you want. Just show up at dinnertime, or Effie will kill you." I stopped. What a terrible thing to say at this time. "But more likely, she'll chew me out," I said, forcing a laugh. I ducked into the room I used every year and locked the door.

Instead of changing into more comfortable clothes, I just plopped down on the bed and stared at the ceiling, wondering if this year will be just as painful as last year, and the year before the last, and the year before that, and the year before that. Sometime in the midst of thinking, I fell into a dreamless sleep and woke up just in time to wash my face and change into a pair of gray sweats and a loose black tank top.

I was the third to sit down at the dinner table, after Effie and Faye. "Haymitch around?" I asked, helping myself to an appetizer, crackers topped with tuna and cheese and fancy stuff even the richer people in District 12 almost never gets. None of them answered.

As I finished half of my appetizer plate, Floyd joined us. His eyes brightened at the sight of all the bowls of appetizers served around the table, and he got a little of each. Shrimp, celery sticks stuffed with cheese and peanut butter, deviled eggs with fancy toppings, the crackers I was nibbling, little weiners, a handful of raw vegetables with dip, and more all went to his plate.

He was obviously from the Seam.

Faye was looking at Floyd curiously as he began stuffing all the food in with is hands. Faye was obviously a town girl, so she wasn't as excited as Floyd about the food, but she still dug in, with a fork and knife however. Gale (or maybe Bree, or both) must have taught her proper manners, but also thriftiness and when to keep quiet. I was grateful to see that.

When everyone was finished with their appetizers, Floyd was only one-thirds through. We all politely waited a couple of minutes before I said as kindly as possible, "There's more food to come, Floyd. Why don't you save some space?"

He put a dipped carrot in his mouth and nodded hesitantly. Almost instantly, three Avoxes took all the plates and utensils away, one changed the vase of flowers sitting at the middle of the table to a fresher bouquet, and five more brought the entrees. Even Effie glowed as the whole cooked pig, stuffed chicken breast, stews, steak, stacks of fancy hamburgers and hot dogs, stuff for vegetarians, spaghettis, and countless others settled down at our table.

Floyd declared, "I want to try everything." I nodded approvingly and Faye said that she might try that as well, but Effie just rolled her eyes and scoffed. Right when Floyd glanced up at her. His face fell.

"Go on," I prodded. "Why don't we play a sort of game? We'll all try a bite from a certain food one at a time and give our ratings?" Faye nodded and Floyd looked relieved. Effie rolled her eyes again but we ignored her.

The three of us each stabbed a pork chop with our forks and put it in our mouths. Mm. Saliva poured all over it inside my mouth. "Really good," I commented. Floyd said it was delicious but Faye grimaced.

"Too sour for me," she said.

"That's okay," I said, smiling, as she blushed. "That's what this game is all about." So much for not bonding with any of them.

We tried all sorts of meat, left bite marks on hamburgers, decided all three spaghettis weren't so good, took sips from all the drinks the Avoxes brought, and sampled the mouth-watering turkey intestines. "My favorite!" Faye cried as we got to the grilled salmon. She reached for another bite. I let her.

"Hey, Katniss," said Floyd as we reached the tortilla soup. "I remember watching a recap of your Games on TV once. You said at your interview with Caesar Flickerman that you loved that lamb stew..." He trailed off.

"Lamb stew with dried plums!" I exclaimed. "I can't believe I forgot. Yea. Let's try it." I peered around the table and saw that it was not there, so I ordered a small bowl of it from an available Avox.

It arrived after we tried two other foods. "Here it is!" I said excitedly, but my brain was saying,_ forget the bad memories_. "Take a spoonful," I said to my tributes. They made sounds from their tongues as they tried it. "Do you like it?"

"Umm..." Floyd murmured, still trying to make up his mind. "It's all right, but I like the other foods better."

I shrugged. "Faye?" She just shook her head no. "Okay. I get the rest of it, then," I said, placing the small bowl next to my plate. "Let's try some other stuff."

Effie made faces at us as I finished my stew and we tried every little thing, including different dips, different colored turnips, and mixed foods.

After a while, I let out a breath. "Wow. I'm stuffed."

My tributes stared at me. "But we haven't had dessert," Floyd protested.

"Oh. Right," I said and glanced at the Avoxes. They nodded and wiped the table clear of plates and utensils again, and replaced them with cakes, fruits, an actual portable chocolate fountain, and pies. They also set up an ice cream stand near our table and an Avox stood behind it. Another Avox placed a bag of cotton candy next to every person. All I managed to eat was two bites of coconut cake, a strawberry, a tiny slice of pumpkin pie, and a small scoop of vanilla ice cream. Faye and Floyd continued the taste test, though.

Throughout the meal, Haymitch did not show up. He didn't even show a sign that he was alive.

"All righty, guys," I said, exhaling loudly. "You're free for the night. Early tomorrow morning we'll arrive at the Capitol -" I broke off. Effie had just rolled her eyes again, smacked her fork down on her plate, and gotten up from the table. "Is there a problem, Trinket?" I demanded, giving her a glare. She'd been rude all evening and that was the end of my rope.

"Yes," she snapped. "You've been treating these pigs like they're normal, which they're not. Especially him," she said, pointing at Floyd, who gripped his glass tightly. Faye looked shocked. "They shouldn't deserve all this food. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to go to my room before I puke in front of any you guys. I'm so disgusted." She flounced off with her nose in the air.

Whoa. Effie's never been this conceited before, in all these years I've known her. Just a little standoffish when she was miffed. "At least they're not idiots like you are!" I shouted at her back. "They don't stuff themselves 24/7 until they can't hold one more ounce of food and then throw it up with some formula! They don't have plastic surgery if they get fat and old!"

Effie let out a high-pitched, forced "HA!" and "Good for them!"

My voice got louder and higher. "They don't have three tons of paint all over their face or curtains wrapped on their body! And best of all, THEY HAVE SOME DECENCY TO KNOW WHEN TO BE RESPECTFUL!"

Effie didn't respond to that.

Faye screamed, "I wish you weren't our escort!" She was 100% over her shock. "As soon as District 12 wins the Games this year, Katniss will make sure you're fired... OR EXECUTED!"

Damn. This night wasn't getting any better. Before Floyd could spout some insult too, I took a deep breath and said quietly, "Floyd, go to your room. Faye, let's talk."

Floyd took off with his cotton candy. Faye just shook her head and followed Floyd, her eyes shining with tears. Luckily, my speed hasn't gone away yet, so I managed to slide into Faye's room before she could slam it shut.

"What is it?" she asked lowly and threateningly. "If you're here to talk about my behavior, forget it. I'm not gonna keep my thoughts from that stuck-up snob from the Capitol." She paused for a moment, then barged on angrily. "I hate her and the Capitol for what they've done to the districts. I especially hate what they've done to Dad's family when he was a kid, and what they made him go through. These Games are what I need to get revenge. And I swear, I won't -"

"Faye," I said softly, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I know -"

"You too," she accused, looking into my eyes. "You broke my dad's heart."

I froze. Then I inhaled again deeply and walked out of the room, telling myself to not show any sadness. As I headed out the door, I said, "Remember, we're arriving at the Capitol tomorrow. Be ready to leave the train."

As far as I knew, no one left their rooms for the rest of the night.


	5. CHAPTER 5: ARRIVING AT THE CAPITOL

_**Sorry I haven't posted a new chapter in so many days! Here's chapter 5!**_

* * *

Title: The 94th Annual Hunger Games

Based on: Hunger Games

Narrator: Katniss Everdeen

Summary: Let's say Peeta Mellark had died to let Katniss live, and there was no rebellion. The 75th Hunger Games was not for past victors, and Katniss goes on to be a mentor for District 12 along with Haymitch Abernathy.

CHAPTER 5: ARRIVING AT THE CAPITOL

"Thank goodness," I muttered as soon as my eyes flew open and I realized the train already went through the tunnel in the mountains. Those tunnels had always made me queasy since it reminded me of my father's death in the mines.

"KATNISS EVERDEEN!" Effie was screaming nearby. From the tone of her voice, she'd probably been screaming for quite a while. "KAT - !"

I dashed across my room, yanked the door open, stuck my head out, and screamed back at her, "WHAT DO YOU WANT?"

"It's time to get up!" Effie shrilled, a little less loudly this time. She looked incredibly perturbed. "I've been calling you to wake up for -"

I slammed my door shut. What had happened to "up, up, up!" for a "big, big, big!" day? _That_ was what woke me up every year.

Someone knocked on my door somewhat hesitantly as I changed out of my pajamas. "Who is it?" I called out, my voice muffled as I struggled with the top. No one answered. Oh well. I opened one of the drawers, the one filled with padded undershirts (since I informed the Avoxes years ago that bras were simply not my type), and carefully chose a soft, pale yellow one that stuck to my skin and was the perfect size for me. Then as I opened another drawer, one of the two full of shirts and tops, the person who knocked came in. It was Faye.

"Good morning, Faye," I said monotonously, still thinking about how she basically called me a heartbreaker yesterday. I put on a light, pink cardigan over the tank top. "Did you want something?"

She stayed silent at the doorframe. That just reminded me of her mother, seen but not heard.

Faye didn't peep a word as I slipped on a pair of tight casual denim jeans that finished a few inches below my knees. I walked over to the full-length mirror and examined my outfit. Nice. It wasn't really my style, since I hate dressing up of any kind, but after years of Effie disapproving of my physical appearing, as she called my "trashy look," I gave in and began to look a bit more presentable. Or at least, not like I came from the "dump" aka District 12's Seam.

"You live in the Victor's Village, Katniss, not the..." Effie would always say, sometimes not finishing the sentence to avoid a very nasty look from me. And the silent treatment.

Plus, I've learned that I can rip off the Capitol by bringing clothes and stuff back home every year.

I grabbed a mic and asked for a duffel bag. A navy blue one came up right away, and I stuffed it with tame-colored clothes I liked.

"Why are you doing that?" asked Faye, somewhat irritably.

"Why are you here?" I challenged her, shoving in three pairs of gray cotton sweatshirts. Then I put in the outfit I wore to the reaping the day before in too. After stuffing in countless other articles of clothing, I slung the bag over my shoulder and walked out of the room, leaving Faye inside. If she wanted to give me attitude, fine. It's not like I'm gonna be a ten-year-old Capitol girl and fight back. (I assumed that's what conceited Capitol girls do.)

"Katniss Everdeen!" Effie Trinket shrilled again at me as I walked to the kitchen table. She looked absolutely exasperate and horrified. "You're... barefoot," she said, as if barefoot were a dirty word.

I rolled my eyes and sat down, placing the duffel bag next to my chair on the floor. "I'll put on some sneakers later," I responded, and piled my plate with scrambled eggs, sausages, and pancakes. The pancakes reminded me of Eva, and that brought a whole load of homesickness.

Effie tottered off in her six-inch painful-looking heels and came back with a shoe box. "I bought this for you the day before the reaping," she said, a little miffed. "It was supposed to be a present to wish you good luck for this year's Games. I hope you like it." She tossed the box towards me and I caught it just in time. Effie stayed rooted to her spot for a moment, expecting me to open the box, but when I put it aside and continued eating, she left in a huff. I didn't mean to seem like such a grouch, but the train was arriving at the Capitol in no more than twenty minutes, and I wanted to eat. Everyone else did already, probably even Haymitch.

After I scarfed down the food, I asked an Avox if they had any lamb stew. He nodded curtly and brought back a bowl from the kitchen. I guessed they had prepared a whole pot of it ahead of time for me. I finished that quickly too.

"Katniss!" exclaimed an excited voice. I turned to see Floyd running down the hall towards me. His face was lit up. "We're - we're - five minutes from the Capitol - and -" He took a deep breath. "And it's beautiful!"

He seemed like a five-year-old on his birthday instead of a fifteen-year-old boy heading to the arena of death. "I know, right?" I said, getting up. I picked up my duffel bag and shoe box. "Let's go see." We pushed a curtain over and peered out. It really was so pretty, especially from a distance. Even after years of seeing the rainbow-colored buildings and breathtakingly high bridges, I never lost my fascination. "What's your favorite color out of these buildings?" I asked Floyd.

I didn't mean to bond with him. In fact, I usually try to avoid any sort of attachment with tributes. But this time I couldn't help it. Floyd was one of the sweetest and nicest kids I have ever met, and Faye... well, Faye was Gale's only child. What other choice did I have?

At first Floyd looked surprised that I would ask him such a question. I was too, but I raised an eyebrow at him, prodding him to answer. "Uh..." he mumbled, looking around intently. "The blue one. I've never seen that shade of blue."

"You like colors?" I said. He nodded, his eyes shining. "So... so did Peeta."

He didn't say anything.

After a minute of absolute silence, I spoke up. "Well, we better get ready to get off the train. Did you want me to take your reaping clothes for you?" I glanced sideways at my duffel bag.

"Okay. I'll go get them," he responded, dashing off. He came back with a rumpled white shirt and ugly overlarge gray pants. As he handed them to me, he whispered hoarsely, "Promise me you'll give them back to my dad."

For some reason, that simple request moved me so much that I had to catch my breath. I closed my eyes for a moment, then opened them and said firmly, "I promise, Floyd. I'll do that or... or..." I was gonna say die trying, but that would be a stupid, senseless thing to say at this point of time. "I'll do that, Floyd. Cross my heart." He smiled.

"Katniss!" Effie exclaimed, abruptly entering the room. Her gaze shifted to Floyd. "You. Kid over there, whatever your name is, you have to go to the entrace of the train right now. The Capitol news crew wants to get a shot of you and that other girl, the one with the lovely name... oh, what a horrible attitude she has, though, for such a pretty face. Anyway, they want to get a shot of you and her and Katniss getting off the train together." She pushed us to the door, which was quite far from where we had been. Faye was standing right there, waiting for us with a sour expression.

"Where have you guys been?" she demanded, but I didn't reply. Instead, I said to Effie, "Won't Haymitch come with us?"

She gasped. "Oh my, I forgot." She pressed a red button that I had missed.

"What's that for?" I asked.

"It's to summon an Avox right away," she said, pressing the button over and over. "But that is obviously a lie, since Avoxes almost never come right - oh, here you are." An Avox nodded in greeting. "Yes, yes, good morning to you too. Get Haymitch right away!" Effie looked frazzled. "The cameras are to start rolling to broadcast us live around the nation any second now!"

"Actually, 77 seconds, Effie," I corrected her with a smirk. It felt good to counter everything she said today. "There's a countdown clock right there." I pointed near the ceiling at the timer to open the doors.

"Whatever," Effie said as the Avox left in a rush. "Hurry!" she called to the Avox. He disappeared.

Effie fluffed Floyd's hair, smoothed Faye's rather adorable pink tutu skirt, and had an argument with me about my shoes (I had slipped on a pair of old black running shoes) before three Avoxes, including the one whom Effie had summoned, came running our direction. Their faces were pale. One of them seemed to be ready to puke, another looked near fainting, and the shortest one's expression was very shady, concerned, and confused.

"Well? Where's that drunken bastard?" Effie snapped. She pointed at the clock. "We have less than thirty seconds!"

One of them, the one that was about to pass out, pulled out a notepad and furiously scribbled a few words. He held it up. It read: He's dead.

I was the first to make out the handwriting. "HAYMITCH IS DEAD?!" I screamed, so loudly that I even hurt my own ears. "NO! He can't be! You liars!" I accused the Avoxes, who merely looked at the floor solemnly.

No, no, no. It couldn't be. Haymitch had been alive for so many Games with me, he couldn've leave me now. Not when I've gotten too close with one of the tributes and may be devastated when the unthinkable happens. I didn't believe the Avoxes. Or, more precisely, I didn't want to believe them.

I rushed to Haymitch's usual room, despite Effie ordering me to come back this instant. He wasn't there. I went into his restroom. Not a single soul. I ran in and out of rooms until I found two Avoxes in a special medical room at the back of the train covering up something on a stretcher with thick, white cloth. I stood at the doorway, watching them cover up Haymitch's bare feet. My legs gave out and I sat on the floor, leaning against the doorway frame, staring at a place in the wall that had a tiny chip. I don't know how long I stayed there, way past the time the Avoxes carried the stretcher to who knows where.

All I could think of was _What am I gonna do now?_

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	6. CHAPTER 6: REUNIONS

_**SO SORRY ABOUT THE LATE UPDATE! I've been busy with band (marching/advanced band) lately but now it's almost summer vacation!**_

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"Katniss, please, come out." Effie knocked urgently on the teak door for about the fortieth time. And for the fortieth time, I ignored her and kept the whole kitchen of the Remake Center to myself.

There was some muffled sounds, which I heard only distinctively. Then a gentle, deep, familar voice spoke, which roused me out of my grief. "Girl on Fire, I'd like to speak with you."

Cinna! I slowly scooted my chair backwards to get up from the table and walked quietly to the door. I pressed my left cheek against the very fresh, smooth wood. "Cinna?" I whispered.

I don't know how Cinna heard me through the thick barrier between us, but he responded firmly, "You better believe it. Now, Katniss, a word please?"

A pair of high heels clunked away. It was probably Effie, irritated with me for at least the fiftieth time within barely a day. Just because I would talk to Cinna but not with her. I took in a shaky breath and pressed the button where a door knob should have been. In the split second the sliding door took to do its job, my beloved stylist and I faced each other. I threw myself in his arms. "Cinna," I mumbled, squeezing my eyes shut against his chest.

He stroked my hair and broke our hug. Our eyes locked. Cinna's dazzling green eyes were as observant, enchanting, and beautiful as ever. His eyes moved over slightly to the right. I glanced downwards, my cheeks feeling a tinge of pink as I knew what words were going to come out of his mouth.

"I believe your prep team specifically advised you to not touch your hair." He raised his eyebrow at my cut hair, just below my shoulders. At the sight of my expression, his face surprisingly broke into a grin. "You knew what I was going to say, didn't you, Katniss?"

I felt the ends of my lips go upwards a little, despite my mood. "Well, what happened to your eyeliner?" I countered. It wasn't his usual gold; this time, it was sort of on the sunset-color shade.

"Seneca Crane thought the gold was outdated." He rolled his eyes. "Threatened execution."

"My gosh," I gasped. Now the Capitol was even cruel to their most favorite show's stylists!

Cinna made a small shrug as if it didn't matter to him in the least but I could definitely see a trace of anger. His eyeliner was his personal trademark.

"Well. Now that we're all finished with the meet and greet..." Cinna smiled. "Let's get you fitted in your outfit." He reached over and brought out an outfit for me to wear to the Tribute Parade. He seemed pleased with his creation but bored. I felt for him. Since I had won my Games, Cinna would be my stylist as long as I was a mentor, I died, or he died. He loved - no, had a _passion_ - to design incredible costumes and things like that, but now he was very limited since I wasn't the latest star of the Capitol anymore. The only time Cinna had a outlet for his overflowing artistry was during my yearly visit to the Capitol for the Hunger Games and when I was invited to a bizarre Capitol party and was hinted a requirement to attend. Otherwise, he had nothing to do except to occasionally pry a couple of Gamemakers to help him get a new job.

Unsuccessfully, of course.

"So what's Portia been up to?" I asked as I stripped off my stupid outfit from the train.

Portia had a different life than Cinna. After my Games, Portia was promoted to be the stylist of the boy tribute of District 7, which, according some Gamemakers with big mouths, was a much better district than 12. A new set of stylists were assigned to the District 12 tributes in the 75th Hunger Games and fired right before the 82nd. Another twosome was hired for the 82nd and fired after the 93rd. So this year, I was going to meet the new couple of stylists for my district. I had incredibly low hopes. Our past stylists were really low-educated in their department.

It took me a second to realize that Cinna hadn't replied yet. "Cinna?" I prodded meekly, knowing that the answer wouldn't be too good.

"Portia... Portia was fired." His voice cracked as he said, "They might execute her."

My mouth dropped open. Portia was a definite innocent person, Capitol citizen or not. "For what?!"

"No one knows for sure. It's strictly between her, some of the more important Gamemakers, and President Snow only. That's it."

"Well, there must be some rumors, Cinna. Tell me one." I couldn't stand the thought of Portia being executed without me having a clue to why.

He shook his head sadly, greatly disappointing me. I knew that his shake wasn't because he didn't want me to know, but because there really weren't any logical rumors. They were all probably stupid, from my point of view of the Capitol.

I quickly slipped on the outfit: a baggy black top with orange and red sparkly sequins on it, a padded cami that was the exact same color as my olive skin so that you could hardly see it, black tights that faintly glowed a bright orange, and simple store-bought cozy black boots. A flaming black witch-like hat topped off my outfit. I bit my lower lip guiltily. These clothes were really astonishing but Cinna was definitely overqualified to be my stylist.

"This looks really nice on me, Cinna. Thanks."

Cinna smiled. "No problem. And you don't look nice at all, Katniss. You look like the legendary Girl on Fire." He tugged on my arm, pulling me out of the room. "I have a small surprise for you." He didn't bother to tell me to close my eyes; he just lead me over to the room down the hall and second door to the left.

"Hey, sugar," Finnick droned. He was leaning against the wall next to the door, making sure he was the first person I saw. When I walked in, he took a step towards me, putting a hand on my waist and the other on the back of my head, as if we were lovers and he was about to kiss me. I tried to pull away, but that damn guy's grip was too strong. "How's it going?" He leaned his forehead against mine, teasing me.

"Finnick!" I protested, not seeing much of the humor in this. "Let go!"

"Hmm. I might have to think about that." He pulled me even closer, if possible. Now I couldn't even try to wriggle out of his clench.

"Stop!" I whined.

There was small laughter from behind me. I recognized them as some other past victors' voices.

My arms were trapped on Finnick's chest, which made me even more uncomfortable. "You guys, help me!" I said to whoever was witnissing this. An odd sound escaped from Cinna, probably a muffled laugh.

No one came to my aid. "No one's coming to your aid, sugar," Finnick said, reading my mind, moving one of his fingers on my waist to stroke my back.

"Ugh, Finnick, I'm warning you, let go." I hadn't completely bruised him up because I didn't have the energy, but now I was working a great load of it up.

"Are you sure, my dear? I - hey, sweetie, cut it out - I'm sure - oof!" Finnick stumbled backwards at my final punch near his abdomen.

"I told you to cut it out," I growled, massaging my arms.

Finnick glanced at Cinna warily, then looked back at me with a sort of mocking expression.

I ignored him. "Johanna. Hi," I mumbled as she tightened an arm around my neck from the side. "Hey, Cecelia. Nice to see you again," I said, waving to her. She was all the way across the room but still made her way to me. I felt very liked as she embraced me in a somewhat grandmotherly way. "How are your kids?"

She rolled her eyes. "All grown up. They hardly ever visit anymore." I hadn't seen Cecelia in a few years because of her unability to be a mentor due to back pain.

That reminded me. "And your back?" I said, eyeing it.

"Much better. Not completely healed but a lot more pleasant than last time."

"Great," I said, smiling. "And you, Wiress? How are you?"

"Okay," Wiress replied. No other word came out. Alright, no problem.

"What about Beetee?" I pressed.

"Dead."

"Oh," I said softly. There were a lot of changes this year.

I glanced at Finnick and walked over to him. I held out my hand in a handshake form. "Let's start over. How are you, Finnick?" I said with an obvious sneer in my tone.

"I've been better," he replied, not covering up sourness.

I looked around. "Where's Annie?" I asked. "Is she mentoring this year?" She had co-mentored four out of the ten past years, making every year unpredictable.

Finnick looked down at the carpet. There was awkard silence all around.

After a minute, Cecelia said very quietly, "She commited suicide less than two weeks ago. Her flashbacks had come back and got so much worse that sometimes she was out for a couple of days. It was really terrible."

"It wasn't on the news?" I said, my mouth dry.

"Oh, it was, definitely. I can't believe you didn't hear." Huh. No wonder Finnick was acting strange.

"I'm sorry," I whispered to Finnick after a moment. My mental list of people who had died and people in danger of dying was growing out of control. This year wasn't good for us mentors at all. "I'm sorry too, Wiress," I said, my voice louder but a little hoarse. No one had anything to say so I made a quiet "hmmmmm" sound that only I could hear, for my own sake.

"Well, everyone," Cinna spoke up suddenly. I looked at him, relieved, sure that Cinna would know what to say. He cleared his throat. "Katniss and I need some time alone, if that's alright with all of you." Everybody's head bobbed up and down like those retarded dolls that were currently all the rage here in the Capitol. "Take care, okay? Especially you, Finnick... Wiress... um, we'll see you guys at the parade." Cinna placed a hand on my shoulder and steered me back to our room, keeping me dumbfounded.

That was probably one of the plainest things Cinna had ever said in this type of situation. Instead of leaving us all in lighter moods, he hadn't done much of anything. Sure, it was a better speech than anything _I_ could have come up with but still... what had happened to Cinna?

"Katniss, I hope that reunion with your fellow victors was a pleasant time," he mumbled. He looked at me up and down. "Since you're all ready, why don't you... oh, I completely forgot." He took out two things from his back pocket: a pair of clip-on earrings shaped as - what else? - flames, and a mockingjay pin.

"The pin?" I said suspiciously. This couldn't be possible. My pin was still at home. "This is just a copy, right?"

"Of course, Girl on Fire." Cinna reached for my hand, placed both items in it, and closed my fingers around them. "I'll see you at the Tribute Parade." He hugged me delicately.

Depressed, I sighed inwardly.

This was not my usual Cinna; there was definitely something wrong.

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	7. CHAPTER 7: TRIBUTE PARADE

_**Here is chapter 7! Enjoy and review!**_

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It's time. Us victors crowded together in a small room, the same room every year at this time. In a few minutes, a woman with neon orange hair who helps run the parade would be leading us to one of the best seats of the whole parade.

"How's it going, babe?" a voice behind me said. I immediately knew it was Finnick when he wrapped his arms around my waist and placed his hands on my stomach.

I rolled my eyes and wormed my way out of his grasp. "Joke's over, Odair," I said, fighting the impulse to slap his face.

"Hey! Katniss! Over here!" Johanna Mason shouted from across the room. She was holding a large cup of a sizzling, snapping drink, called "soda," and two paper plates of nachos with cheese. She fought her way to me and handed me one. "Sit together?"

I took a bite off a chip thick with warm, dripping cheese. "Definitely."

As if on cue, the woman I saw every year for the past ten years, wearing a bright red polo tucked into skinny khaki pants decorated with swirls of pale blue and gray (the plainest uniforms I have ever seen in the Capitol), came in and began to escort the victors out district by district. However, I knew we could sit wherever we wanted on the victors' reserved bleachers. The cameras just wanted to get a close-up of us. I felt depressed when I realized I would be the only victor from District 12, since Haymitch died.

No one even mentioned a funeral planned for him anytime soon.

I leaned against a wall, frozen, as Seeder, who was going to be the only mentor from 11 this year, was lead out.

How was I supposed to mentor properly in this condition?

I pushed my frantic thoughts from my mind when I caught sight of bright orange: the woman. I sucked in a breath and followed her out the door and up the stairs of the bleachers, carefully avoiding looking into any cameras. Johanna and Cecelia, who were sitting near each other, waved me over.

"Are you okay, dear?" Cecelia asked me as soon as I took my seat between them. I just shook my head firmly, nonverbally indicating that this wasn't the time to explain. Johanna thumped me on the back in a friendly way.

"Whoo! Camera!" a victor, probably from a career district, shouted. Sure enough, I turned around to see that it was Brutus. That comment made the small red light go on on the video camera facing us. I groaned. That meant we were being taped live all over Panem; something I've always absolutely hated.

After the red light went off, things were pretty mild. Johanna and Cecelia discussed many topics, such as the pros and cons of their current tributes and whether or not huge fairy-like wings would stay in style in the Capitol throughout the Games or not. They tried to include me in their conversation but I just tuned them out most of the time. I wasn't in the right state of mind to complain about Capitol fashions.

All the other bleachers on our street were quickly filling up. I've seen the prices to get a seat here: a baffling amount for every _person_. I couldn't fathom how the people in charge of the Games could do with so much money, even after the expenses such as building new arenas, paying stylists and prep teams, organizing Hunger Games events like Tribute Parades, and probably a ton more. I've been told that a whole quarter of the profits go to our new president Kritzty, daughter of the former president Snow, and her family, but even with the leftover money, it's still staggering.

Gamemakers and other people who work for the Hunger Games must get a very pretty paycheck.

Mentors, such as I, have a laughable salary compared to them. What do the Gamemakers do? They sit around, having little to do since there's so many of them. They eat, drink, crack jokes, and occasionally order a bear to attack a vulnerable tribute in the arena. What do _we_ do? Well, most of us work our bottoms off, trying to save our tributes, and end up being depressed all over again when they're killed. Our friendships, which we worked on so hard to create, collapse when there's two tributes left and we're both rooting for the other. We have to face this freaking mandatory job every single year.

Talk about underpaid.

My furious thoughts died down a notch when Brites, a recent victor from District 5, turned to face us and declared that it was two minutes until the tributes came out. That reminded me that the rules had changed; mentors weren't allowed in the horse stable, the gathering place for tributes and stylists, anymore. Instead, we were stuck on the bleachers. I've gotten used to this rule change, since it's been around for ten, fifteen years, but sometimes I get this weird nagging feeling that I wasn't doing my job. I smoothed my glowing clothing to relax myself.

Maybe taking yoga and meditation classes, as Prim suggested years ago, would be good for me. I made up my mind to sign up as soon as I returned to my district.

All of a sudden there was cheering and applauding and shouting when District 1's chariot came out. My mind was so out of space that I hadn't even heard the introductions from Claudius Templesmith. Darn.

I pinched myself to fully wake myself up. I needed to make sure that I saw my tributes' costumes. Since 12 wasn't up yet, I studied all the other districts' costumes. Some were pretty classy, such as District 8's over-the-top sophisticated outfits that included latest and old trends put together that would have put many of the Capitol citizens to shame. More than half of the other districts's costumes were moderate. I felt an annoying twinge in my stomach when I realized District 1 was the favorite so far. They had worn so many jewelry and rare stones on their shiny clothing that they were practically just two big hunks of diamond. And their hats! It was huge and decorated to the extreme with fancy sequins and shiny things that I could not believe my eyes. After that, the other districts didn't seem as dazzling as they actually were.

But then District 12 came.

The effect it caused to the Capitol was exactly like what happened when Peeta and I came out twenty years ago. Everyone was silent, stunned, for a split second, then everyone began screaming. "Faye! Floyd!" was all you could hear. Then the crowd began chanting in unison, "District 12! District 12! District 12!" I jumped up to my feet and joined in the cheering, something I don't normally do. That caused everyone to stand up as well.

My costume had been a fire. According to some young men in the Capitol, I wasn't just the Girl on Fire. They had nicknamed me "Hottest Girl," "Flame For The Night," and things like that. I was so furious when I heard all these names, but then I calmed down as the years went by and President Snow never used my body as a reward. When he died a few years ago, I was positively free from harm.

Now it was unquestionable that if one of my tributes became a victor, they were in trouble. Their costumes were so marvelous and seductive that there was no denying their fate. Both were sporting almost identical super-tight rubber-ish athletic clothes. The colors were mind-goggling: purple and blue and gray and bits of orange and a hint of green all swirled together, colors of some kind of galaxy. Silver makeup covered their bare skin, which showed a little all over their bodies. And best of all, an electrical zapping sound went off whenever lightning struck around them. Yes, _lightning_. I couldn't see any wires around them at all, but somehow the stylists made little lightning shapes zing here and there all around them.

They were sensational.

I couldn't decide who looked better, Floyd or Faye. I don't know how Faye's stylist made her incredibly curvy and feminine, or how Floyd could look so smashingly manly. Wasn't he just another skinny boy from the Seam only a few hours ago? Wasn't Faye just a fairly pretty girl, not a definite candidate to be a bikini model?

Johanna was screeching in my ear to get my attention. I faced her and mouthed "WHAT?!" knowing that she could never hear my voice in this crowd anyway. She yelled at the top of her lungs, "WHAT ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO BE?"

My stomach dropped. Sure, District 12 looked stunning, but this had nothing to do with our district's industry... did it? I thought hard. Peeta's and my costume was inspired by the idea of burning coal. So what else happened with coal besides being burned? What was it used for? Then the answer came to my head in a brilliant flash. "ENERGY!" I shrilled. Coal was used for energy! Johanna grinned as it dawned on her and gave me a thumbs-up.

I screamed my bewitching tributes' names over and over until they rounded the corner, out of my sight. Once they did, I could hear roars from that street. I grinned gratefully and accepted slaps on the back in congratulatory from the other mentors. The only ones who didn't share my happiness were the mentors from Districts 1 and 2. They stayed rooted to their seats, irritated to the extreme and giving me looks that could kill. I raised my nose up in the air in a sort of snooty way but in reality was actually sneaky. Tonight gave me spirit and hope for my tributes, because now their chances of winning the Games have risen incredibly.

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	8. CHAPTER 8: POST TRIBUTE PARADE

_**I'm so sorry I haven't updated in almost a month. School let out and I went on a 2-week vacation with my family (it was a blast, by the way)! Yay! Now I have some more time so I can get these chapters in more frequently (hopefully). Stick with me!**_

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"Good lord! Floyd! Faye! I couldn't believe that was you up there!" Effie was saying excitedly, being nice to them for once. "You guys looked so awesome that I thought they had tossed you in the trash and replaced you with models!"

Oh well. Nice enough, when it comes to Effie these days.

I silently tugged my tributes into the elevator and punched the 12 button three times harshly. Effie gave me a stern look but kept her mouth shut. I just wanted to get up to our floor without having to deal with jealous mentors or tributes downstairs in the Training Center. Once we were up there, though, away from all the media and crowds, I grinned and gave them the talk they deserved to hear.

"Wow! You both looked stunning!" I congratulated. Floyd seemed surprised that such a compliment that was directed to him. Faye... well, Faye didn't have a sour expression on. Maybe a small smile? I couldn't tell. It could have been the lighting. "I didn't think anyone in all of Panem could have thought of that costume on _you_. And it happened. Now you have an advantage. Let's make good use of it." I paused for a second, then asked, "Who were your stylists? Where are they?"

"Still downstairs, I think," Floyd said. We all glanced at the elevator door. "Whoops."

So Effie had to go back downstairs and pick up the stylists, who didn't seem to mind that we had totally forgotten about them since they had gotten lots of attention. When they came up and I glanced at the two people behind Effie, my mouth nearly dropped open. I didn't really see who was Floyd's stylist, just Faye's. Why? There were two reasons.

Reason #1: He looked like Cinna. A lot like Cinna. Not just like, "Oh, he has the same hairstyle," alike, but very alike. He had Cinna's almost-slim nose, nearly same sturdy body shape, and the exact same amazing green eyes.

Reason #2: He was kinda hot.

A weird feeling I've never felt before waved through my body that moment. It was kind of... tingly. And my lips couldn't help smiling at him when Effie introduced me to him as Anthul. Normally I would have thought of that as another weird name but now I had different thoughts. Anthul implied strength. It had an intelligent and God-ish sound to it. The name kept ringing in my ears.

I couldn't even remember Floyd's stylist's name.

I practically had to pry my eyes off of him to get ready for dinner, which Effie said was to be in an hour so we could watch the recap of the parade in time afterwards. My smile hadn't come off as I walked to my new bedroom with my duffel bag.

When I locked myself in my room, I sighed in a - wait, had I just sighed _happily_? What was I, crazy? The guy hadn't even laid eyes on me for longer than two seconds. I forced my smile off my face and set my alarm for a half hour, so I had enough time to make myself look presentable for dinner.

Instead of taking a short nap, as I had intended, I ended up staring at the colorful ceiling with glow-in-the-dark star-shaped stickers on them. That tingly feeling still hadn't gone away. All because of Anthul.

What the heck.

I tried to think about what made him look hot to me. His physical features was surely not _too_ attractive to other girls; in fact, he seemed like one of those normal guys who hardly ever got secret admirer notes. He wasn't that cute either, at least not the pretty cute. He wasn't a "rugged" kind of hot either, thank goodness. Rugged, to me, is just no. So what made me...

Have a crush on him?

I almost gasped at the thought. Girls, mainly town girls, in District 12 had crushes when I was in school. They changed their crush practically every week, or was that what I had imagined? Will I not have a crush on Anthul in a week? I couldn't tell.

Suddenly I felt like someone had punched my stomach. _Peeta._ I had turned down Gale, my childhood best friend, for Peeta. The one who had died for me. And now I was throwing that away for some guy. Tears sprung in my eyes at my confusion but they wouldn't spill over. The image of Anthul in my mind cleared my vision though. How did that happen?

The sound of the alarm startled me. Had I been daydreaming for half an hour? Seriously? I hardly ever daydreamed for a minute in my whole life, let alone half an hour. And in this situation. I literally kicked myself for doing so; I was not used to this.

During my shower I picked my scents carefully. I wanted to smell nice enough to not smell like a dead fish but not completely drown myself in perfumes either. For my shampoo I picked a cheap baby shampoo. No scents at all. For my body I mixed the smell of lavendar with forest, which reminded me of the woods. I loved that smell. And I was grateful I had rubbed it on my body and not my hair or I'd be tempted to sniff my hair all night. My body was a good distance from my nose. I dipped my feet in warm water with rose petals in them and deep conditioned my hair with a lychee-scented conditioner. And for the facial cleanser I used something that smelled like green tea.

Very neutral and natural.

When I came out it took less than ten seconds total to completely dry my body and detangle my hair with the Capitol's bathroom machines. I rubbed a teeny bit of coconut oil in my hair to make it look natural and not desert-dry. I slipped on a pair of underwear and put on a clean gray padded cami. It was soft and tight. I looked in the full-length mirror and decided to go to dinner with more than half of my body's skin showing. After some thought, I made up my mind that just underwear was too weird so I put on a pair of black skinny jeans. After looking in the mirror again and being satisfied that my slim, slightly muscled arms were showing, I headed for dinner, my hair swishing around my shoulders in a nice way.

"Katniss! Did you forget your shirt?" Effie exclaimed as soon as she laid her eyes on me. Her, Floyd, and oh God, the two stylists were there.

I raised my nose an inch and scoffed, "You don't make the rules here, Miss Trinket."

Effie clucked her tongue and shook her head. Floyd smiled and his stylist, what's her name?, gave me an approving look. Anthul hadn't even glanced at me. I gritted my teeth in frustration.

"Well." Effie sighed. "I don't know when Faye and Haymitch are gonna show -"

"Haymitch is dead, remember?" I said sharply.

Effie gasped. "Oh my. I'd forgotten. Katniss, they've set a date for Haymitch's funeral. It's a week from tomorrow at District 12. You're invited."

"Who's organizing it?" I demanded, my tone staying the same.

To my pleasure and surprise, Anthul looked at me deeply and answered. "Cinna, Vivia, and I are organizing it. Portia wanted to as well but of course she was forbidden."

"Ah," I said lamely. His eyes hadn't left mine yet. I felt paralyzed.

Faye showed up. "Well, what are you all waiting for? Let's eat!" She and Floyd dug in.

"Right," I mumbled. I hadn't even sat down yet. Luckily, there was an empty chair next to Anthul. I dove for it and tripped. "I'm fine. I'm fine, really," I said as Anthul helped me up. His hand on my back felt like electricity. "Thanks." After that I couldn't meet his eye. For the whole dinner. Which was a shame because his eyes were so beautiful. I'd realized that while Cinna's had a sort of enchantment to it, Anthul's was sort of mysterious. You couldn't really tell what went on behind those gorgeous eyes.

When everyone finished their plates, we moved over to the TV room. The flat-screen TV was new; I heard it wasn't even in stores yet in the Capitol. It was so big it took up almost a whole wall, and it was so clear too. If turned off, it was nearly transparent except for the frame. If turned on, you couldn't see the wall behind it anymore but you somehow got the feeling it was still there. I couldn't imagine how it worked and didn't bother trying to.

"Sit," Effie spoke up. Everyone was just standing around awkwardly. I looked around and saw just a couch, a velvet armchair, and a tiny red loveseat. Effie took the armchair, Faye, Floyd, and Vivia, Floyd's stylist, plopped down on the couch, and Anthul settled down on one side of the loveseat.

Which left me no choice but to sit next to him.

I didn't really want to. I mean, I _did_ want to, but I was afraid to. What if did something embarrassing, like I sit down so hard he bounces up? Or burp? I gnawed my lip nervously and stayed standing up.

"Well, well, well. I never thought you'd be so shy to take a seat, Girl on Fire," a voice said behind me. I swirled around and found Cinna at the doorway. He raised an eyebrow. "Scared of my nephew?"

His nephew? Oh, his nephew! Anthul was Cinna's nephew. Cinna was Anthul's uncle. No wonder they resembled each other.

Although this was already in my knowledge, I asked tentatively, "You're related to Anthul, Cinna?"

Anthul chuckled. His eyes twinkled at me, which almost gave me a heart attack. "You knew that."

I neared death again when he smiled. "Sit down, Katniss." He patted the seat next to him.

Well, I _didn't_ want to sit down. The loveseat was... a _loveseat_. And it was so tiny, I wouldn't be able to sit without my whole left side touching his right, which I didn't think I'd survive through.

But stupid me, I took his offer. And of course, my body felt sparks when our bodies made contact. Anthul smiled at me again. "This is comfortable enough, isn't it?"

I lied by nodding.

Effie turned to the right channel for the opening ceremonies recap while Cinna took a place on the edge of the couch. I pinched myself for not taking that spot earlier, but my position didn't turn out to be bad. I wasn't squished with Anthul, I was close to him. That was a whole different matter, and it put me in a glowing mood.

I didn't remember much of the Tribute Parade recap except that District 12 looked so much better than from what I remembered. Everyone cheered when they came on view, and Faye and Floyd accepted congrats.

When it was over, everyone got up and headed to their rooms for the night. Halfway down the hall, I noticed there was someone behind me.

It was Anthul.

In my opinion, he looked so much more attractive in darkness than in light. I couldn't resist turing around and staring at him.

"Hi," he said quietly, way before our silence became awkward. He took a step closer to me. "I just... wanted to say goodnight."

"Oh," I said just as quietly, my voice cracking. I reminded myself to breathe, but it was difficult. He was _so close _to me. "Um... thanks. Goodnight."

He nodded, then leaned towards me a little. I froze, not knowing what was coming next. He whispered in my ear, "Next time, hurry and beat Effie Trinket to the armchair so you don't have to be embarrassed sitting next to anyone so close." He turned around and left to his room.

I stayed rooted to my spot, full of emotion but also emotionless at the same time. It was a long time before I finally went in my room.

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_**Just a reminder, it's the reviews that keep me going and I haven't been getting too many of those. It doesn't matter if the review is good or bad, just gimme your friggin reviews! And uh, thank you very much for reading! I really, really appreciate it =)**_


	9. CHAPTER 9: TRAINING

_**Hi guys! If you made it to this chapter, I just want to say... THANKS! This chapter is much longer than the other ones because I was working on making everything conclude perfectly!**_

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"Good mor - oh." For once, I was the first one at the breakfast table.

I had to admit, there was a specific reason why I purposely woke up extra early to make myself look good. I couldn't bring myself to think of it, though; it was too embarrassing and in a way, shameful. But the reason was as clear as glass.

An Avox pulled out a chair for me, seeing that I had been standing around doing nothing for a while. I took the seat and thanked him, and he gestured at the food. I nodded and filled my plate with a big stack of waffles, some aloo paratha, a scoop of fruit pudding, two English muffins, and a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich. Things that are very pricey in District 12.

I guess I had come down for breakfast too early because I was getting seconds by the time people showed up. Floyd, Cinna, and Vivia trooped over one by one and took their seats around me. Floyd reminded me of me going to my Games by the way he couldn't resist refilling his cup over and over of hot chocolate. Cinna knew what I was thinking; he was looking at me with a humorous spark in his eye. I did the face that one makes when they say "shut up" in a joking way to someone. Although my facial expressions suck, he got the message and smiled slightly.

"So where's Anthul and Effie, Vivia?" I said, avoiding eye contact with Cinna. I've been eating for over half an hour and they still weren't here yet. I didn't even bother asking about Faye, sure that she probably didn't feel like having breakfast. I'd come to the conclusion that the weird changes of her personality were because of mood swings.

"Effie might be working in her bedroom," Vivia responded. "Careful, Katniss. Because of Haymitch's death, she's convinced that you'll be in an unstable condition to be a mentor so she's probably doing as much of your work that she's allowed to do." Then she smiled at me in a smug way, making me surprised. "And why don't you ask Anthul what he's up to yourself?"

My stomach dropped. _She knows._ I don't know how she read my feelings last night, but I was certain that she knew.

"Uh -"

"His room is the fourth one on the right. Number 13," said Cinna. His face was expressionless, but I was suspicious. No one was to have knowledge of my little excited feeling yesterday, yet... I sighed frustratedly.

"All right," I said firmly, standing up. Cinna raised an eyebrow; I could tell he thought I wasn't going to go to Anthul that easily, but I was, just to prove them wrong of... of whatever they were thinking. I dragged my legs out of the kitchen and to the hallway of rooms.

Number 13. Number 13... oh, there it was. I sucked in some air sharply before knocking on the door. "Anthul?" I called, my voice shaking.

"Come on in!" his deep voice replied.

I shuddered. _Should_ I go in? Well, Cinna and Vivia may never let me hear the end of it if I chickened out. I twisted the doorknob and barged in, nearly falling flat on my face.

"Oh hi, b - Katniss," said Anthul, turning around and clearing his throat. "I, uh, I thought you were someone else."

_Oh my god. He doesn't have the Capitol accent. Awesome!_

"Care to have a seat?" he asked.

I was gawking at him in his plain black muscle tank and loose gray sweats. Damn!

"Or let's just go have breakfast," he pressed, examining me as if I'd come from another planet.

"Oh." I finally found my voice. "Sure," I said, completely forgetting that I already had breakfast.

"All right then," Anthul said, smiling. He took a loose hold of my arm to lead me out the door, making my heartbeat irregular. I almost passed out.

"Ah. Katniss. It's been a while," Vivia joked. I guessed I'd been gone for a good ten minutes minimum. "What were you guys _doing_?" she pushed on slyly.

Two could play that game. "None of your business," I replied, trying to sound mischievous. "We were... busy." Oh god, I didn't just say that, did I?

After that I didn't trust my mouth anymore. Throughout the rest of breakfast, even after Faye and Effie arrived, I kept my eyes on my plate and my mouth shut.

"Well then," Effie spoke up at 9:30. "Cinna, Vivia, and Anthul, you guys have an event to plan, don't you?" I groaned inwardly. Haymitch's funeral. "Why don't you go ahead? You guys have a lot on your hands, especially Vivia, Anthul. You need to plan for Faye and Floyd's interviews too."

They nodded and got up to leave. I attempted to make one last eye contact with Anthul before he walked away but failed.

"Floyd and Faye," said Effie, "for three days, you guys have training, starting today. It begins at 10. Then they'll serve you a late lunch, and you come back up here at 6 for dinner with me, Katniss, and the stylists. Remember to -"

"Whoa, hold it, Trinket." I put my hands up. "I'm right here, you know, I can deal with this. It's my job." I turned to face my tributes and picked up from where I interrupted Effie. "Do any of you have a specific strength? Something that might help you when you get to the arena?" I looked directly at Faye; surely Gale taught her something.

"Um, I can sort of do hand-to-hand combat," Floyd said uncertainly, wringing his stick-like arms. Effie made a weird high sound, like a fake cough to cover up a snicker. Floyd looked angry. "Effie Trinket. I have an older brother, an older sister, and a younger brother," he said loudly. "I've gotten into fistfights with each of them more than once."

"Well, if you're _good_, Floyd, don't show it off to anyone," I said quickly before Effie could say something back. He was pretty skinny though. "And you, Faye?"

She said too fast and too sharply, "Nope. Nothing."

I seriously doubted her but kept quiet. "Okay, then. You both have a lot of stations to cover. I have a couple of rules for you two. One, stay away from the Careers. I mean it." It would be very shameful not to mention dangerous for either one of them, and especially shameful for me. And I couldn't imagine what _Gale_ would think if Faye joined the Careers. "And second, avoid any injuries. It'll only affect you in the Games. That's it. Effie, take 'em away." Our escort got up and lead my tributes to where they would begin their priceless training.

xxx

My daily routine for the next three days were somewhat similar to what I did every year as a mentor. After Effie left with Faye and Floyd, I sort of tried to help the Avoxes clear the table without seeming like I was helping. For example, this year I pretended to put the food that I liked in front of me and "made space" for them by stacking the dirty dishes on one side. That was all it took to clear the table. I knew from experience that the food we didn't eat during that meal was gonna be thrown out so I asked for some fairly large disposable containers and stuffed it with food to secretly mail home to District 12. The trains were so fast that the food would get to Prim's family way before it went bad.

From what I know, only me and Cecelia are the only mentors that can mail things home from the Capitol without it being inspected. Cecelia has kids, and the Capitol has adored Prim since she was reaped. Once I put a tiny camera in a box of clothes I sent back, and from what I saw on the tape, not one person took a second glance at the box. That's how I knew for sure.

This year, I decided to give the clothes I had taken from the train to 12's new orphanage. The orphange was our district's secret. In fact, it's so secretive that less than half of District 12's population knows about its real purpose: to give parent-less children under the age of 14 a place to sleep, eat, and breathe easy. I was one of the three donors to found the fairly wide, two-floored structure with running water and a few hours of electricity a day, knowing that my home's population wouldn't dwindle helplessly as fast with it. More children being taken care of meant more children staying healthy, which leads to more children becoming adults and having kids, so our district wouldn't be so empty. So far, there hasn't been much of an increase in our population since the orphanage isn't even two years old yet, but we're positive it would be worthwhile in the end.

I addressed my fairly large package to Prim's with a short letter in it, explaining what the contents were for. I also readied a second box, a much smaller one, full with food, for Prim's family to eat. Then I just dropped it off in a mailbox, which was right in the Training Center on the first floor. I spent a lot of my three days there, sipping beverages and having chats with other victors. On the second day of the tributes' training, an interaction between me and Finnick was... unusual. It stuck in my head for the rest of the day.

"Hey... _Catnip_," Finnick jokingly, plopping down next to me on the couch. I walked away in disgust, since being reminded of Gale hardly ever helped matters. "Kitty cat, wait up," Finnick went on. Before I could escape, he grabbed hold of me and dragged me back. The room was empty, so I wasn't embarrassed to try to physically hurt him. Finnick was prepared, though, and kept me at arm's length away. He forced me to lie down on the couch face-up while he hovered over me teasingly.

"What the freak, Odair," I yelled, trying to get away from him. He was making me very, _very_ uncomfortable.

He put a finger on my lips to shush me. I bit it and didn't let loose. After a few seconds he grimaced and said, "Okay, you win. Stop biting me." I didn't though, until he got off of me. However, he didn't let me leave the room yet. He had some interesting questions didn't put me at ease.

"How's your love life, Miss Everdeen?" Finnick asked me in an interview-ish way. I couldn't tell if this was a joke or not; he had a slight smirk on his face but his eyes were very deep and prodding and questioning.

I decided to keep it simple yet mysterious, since Finnick and I were never really best friends but weren't enemies either. "I don't have one. And if I did, it's not really any of your business."

"Oh really?" he responded just as mysteriously, leaning in closer. I made a face and scooted back. "Because Katniss Everdeen, I have a piece of knowledge of your love life." He trailed off quietly, cocking his head to the side a little.

I clenched my jaw. First Vivia, now Finnick. I barely knew Vivia and Finnick has proven over the years that his personality comes with a wide range, so I wasn't sure if the whole Capitol would find out about Anthul by the time the tributes are sent into the arena. I hated the thought.

Finnick nodded and got up. My eyes followed his hand as it reached in his pocket, pulled out a small piece of paper, and swiftly slipped it in my hand. "Whenever you're ready, Kitty."

I made sure I was safely locked in my room on the twelfth floor before reading the note. _I've been interested. 555-9353._

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. The numbers were a telephone number, that much I knew. In the districts, not too many people had one, but in the Capitol, everyone did. Even portable ones. Their nauseating kids carried them around all the time, proudly flaunting them about. But whose number was this?

My first thought was Finnick, but I quickly eliminated him as the owner of this number. He was Annie's, and Annie was his. He wouldn't leave her just because she died... would he? No. No, I thought fiercely.

Another option was that Mr. Odair was playing with me. It must be amusing for him if he saw the state I was in now, puzzling over the simple, crumpled note. Yes, that was it... wasn't it? My mind boggled.

Before I knew it, I was tiptoeing out of my room to the nearest telephone. As far as I knew, there were at least three of them on our floor alone, one in the kitchen, one in Effie's room, and one in a room called the sitting room. I went directly to the sitting room since it was pretty small and hardly anyone went there anyway.

"Perfect," I muttered, locking the door behind me. No one was in there. I picked up the phone and quickly punched in the numbers. No one could track me down by calling this person, could they?

"Hello?" a deep voice answered after half a ring.

I pinched my nose and said in a squeaky voice, "Odair? This is his - his... friend calling."

"We're all Odairs," the voice said suspiciously. "Which one do you want?"

"Which ones are there?" I responded lamely, hoping it didn't sound like prostitution or anything.

"Uh, well, Finnick's at the Capitol, my dad and older brother are out in the sea, and I'm at home with our little sister, Coral." He kept his family pretty anonymous.

"What's your name?" I blurted, accidentally using my regular voice.

The person stayed silent for a while before giving in. "Kai." Then he demanded, "Who are you and what do you want?"

"Uh - uh - well -" I couldn't think of an excuse so I sighed and mumbled, "Finnick Odair gave me this phone number."

"_Finnick_ GAVE you this - wait, wait, wait," Kai sputtered. "Is... is this... _Katniss Everdeen_?"

"No!" I yelled too quickly.

"Oh god." I barely heard him say it. "I - Katniss - um -"

I couldn't stand it anymore. This was too stupid and awkward. I hung up.

I tried to forget about that pointless phone call but I couldn't. I'd learned that Finnick had two brothers, a father, and a little sister. What about his mother? And from the way Kai had sounded on the phone, he sounded overly surprised and happy with my call. Was he the one that was "interested"? Probably. But if he looked anything like the beautiful Finnick Odair, why would he be interested in me? I'm plain. I've never cared for fashion or makeup. I'm the furthest thing from feminine.

At the end of the third day of training, Floyd and Faye came back into the room in a distressed manner. Before I even asked, Faye said crossly, "We blew it. I don't even want to talk about it, so every one of you better shut up with your stupid questions." We had just settled down to eat, so dinner was a bit quiet that night.

Despite the tension in the air, everyone gathered in front of the TV to watch the training scores. Districts 1 and 2 did the best so far, all of them scoring a 9 or 10. Districts 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8 mostly scored from a 3 to 6. One boy even got a 2, one of the lowest scores in Hunger Games history. The girl from 4 got a 6 and the boy got an 8. Unusually low scores for their district. Both from District 9 did pretty good, each getting a 8. From what I remembered, though, they were 18 and buff. That was probably why. District 10 and 11 got 7s and 8s. Not bad. Then it was time for District 12. Floyd came on first. He clenched his fists and tucked his knees under his chin. 7! He'd gotten a 7!

"What did you do, Floyd?" Effie exclaimed, completely shocked.

"I punched all the dummies down in three seconds and threw some spears around," he replied smugly. "I didn't think it would do much but I guess it did."

"Faye Hawthorne," Ceasar Flickerman said smoothly, smiling into the screen. "A... 9."

"9!" she cried out. "I didn't _do_ anything!"

"What do you mean?" Anthul questioned, his voice creating goosebumps on my skin.

"I just went in, threw a couple of knives in the targets and dummies, and kicked the paint and small weights and other equipment to make a huge mess."

I raised an eyebrow. _That _got her a 9? It wasn't exactly rebelling but still... that wasn't anything! How did Faye get a 9 and Floyd get a 7? It should've been the other way around.

"Well," Effie said, trying to sound motherly and sweet, "kids, off to bed. Would you like me to tuck you in?"

I gagged. "Seriously?"

"They've had a long three days, Katniss, I'm sure they'd want someone to tuck them in warmly in bed and -"

"I'm fine, thank you," Faye said shortly, dashing off.

I fiddled with my toes, trying not to smirk at Effie. Once I thought everyone was gone, I looked up and made eye contact with...

Anthul.

"Still here?" I choked out.

He nodded. "Katniss..." His eyes swept down and he took a few steps closer to me. "Has anyone told you what a beautiful woman you are?"

My breath hitched. I stared in his gorgeous green, mystical eyes. "No," I whispered. Peeta nor Gale never really said it straight out, and whenever Ceasar Flickerman said it in my interviews, it didn't seem real. Prim said it in an admiringly, sisterly way, my father died before I was even old enough to be called beautiful, and my mother was probably too shy to say it.

"Katniss, can you keep a secret?" Anthul asked hushedly.

The room was dark; Effie probably turned it off on the way out. The only thing I could focus on was this person's magnificent eye color. "Yes."

His hands wrapping me in a tight embrace, Anthul leaned in suddenly and pressed his lips against mine.

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_**I hope you liked the ending! I beg you to please review, follow, and favorite! **_


	10. CHAPTER 10: PREPPING

_**So sorry for the long wait! There was one person who I told that this chapter would be up by Saturday but I'm late! I'm guilty! Well hope you enjoy this chapter!**_

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"Katniss, up, up, up!" Effie tweeted, knocking on my door. "It's a big, big day! And I mean it. We're training the kids today."

I groaned and shoved a pillow on my face. I hadn't had much sleep last night, as I was staring up at the ceiling and replaying my little encounter with Anthul last night. Blinking sleepily and confusedly, I decided to summarize what had happened for like the sixtieth time.

Anthul had moved his head away from mine slowly, opening his eyes. I had JUST gotten over my shock and was ready to mirror his actions but he'd finished up too soon. My eyes had followed his pointer finger as it rested on my lips. "Our secret, okay?" he had whispered, looking intently into my eyes.

I had nodded somewhat hesitantly. Before I knew it, I was out of this one-of-a-kind man's grasp and was escorted to my bedroom where he'd said goodnight and walked off without a single glance back. I had bit my lip and quietly went inside, where tears heavily flowed down my cheeks and onto my lap. My legs had given way and I slid down to the floor, thinking of no one but Anthul and Peeta.

Peeta. He was my first and only kiss, before last night. All these years I'd intended to keep it that way. Not even Gale had kissed me full on the lips before, just little brushes on my cheeks and hands.

When my eyes couldn't possibly produce any more tears, I had somehow managed to drag myself onto my bed. I'd glued my vision to the ceiling and could not fall asleep for hours.

So by the time Effie was telling me to get up, I felt like I had slept for about two minutes.

However, I knew that this day was important. Effie and I were to prep Faye and Floyd for their interviews with Ceasar Flickerman, which was tomorrow night. These interviews are the key factor to winning sponsors, and it is my job to make sure my tributes have the right personality.

I hurriedly put on a pair of sweatpants and a skintight blue cami with a built-in bra. When I looked at the full-length mirror, I decided this was all wrong. For goodness sake, I had kissed a man last night and I'd surely be seeing him sometime today. I did not want to look like a slob, so I chose something more presentable: a gray/silver V-neck shirt and a pair of skinny tan pants. At the last second, I grudgingly grabbed a bra. I went to the bathroom to wash up.

"Katniss! I thought you'd never get here," Effie exclaimed as soon as I arrived at the breakfast table. "Hurry, eat. You'll start with Floyd in five minutes and lunch will be at one. Then you get Faye." I glanced at the clock. It was nearly nine o'clock and Effie already had my whole day planned.

I shoved a stuffed croissant in my mouth and gestured Floyd to follow me. I led us to a large, colorful room with no windows.

Since Haymitch wasn't here anymore to give me a hand on this little lesson and I seriously could not remember what I had told my past tributes to do before, I had to procrastinate. "So um, Floyd. Tell me about... tell me about your family."

Floyd furrowed his eyebrows, confused. "My family?"

I nodded hastily. "Is your family close-knit?" Floyd scoffed. "Are you guys the arguing type?"

That was it. For the next ten minutes, Floyd rambled, keeping me speechless.

"My siblings and I fight a lot, especially my older brother with my older sister. They argue about everything. My brother's eighteen, two years older than me." Huh. Floyd was sixteen. I had thought he was about fifteen since he was so lanky. "And my sister's seventeen. A lot of boys chase her, even some from town." Floyd's eyes suddenly turned dark. "My younger brother and I mainly get along but we still argue sometimes. Not that much, though. His name's Collin. Collin's probably the smartest of all of us; he was the first to see my sister's problem.

"My sister - her name's Ash, by the way, short for Ashley - she probably hooked up with half the guys her age in District 12. Never did she look for love, all she wanted was 'fun.' My dad and both granddads were too busy in the mines to notice and my mom was busy looking after all of us. There's us four kids, our parents, and all four of our grandparents, so that made ten of us. And Grandma and Granny Ralph both get sick all the time. When Collin noticed something funny about Ashley... me, him, and Burnet told our parents. Father disowned her and yelled at her to never come back because she was a disgrace, and Mother was in a terrible mood for months. My brothers and I never intended to have Ash out. It just... we just had to tell our parents. And a few weeks before the reaping was when we found out Ash was pregnant. And the list of possible fathers of the baby was long.

"No one in my family will support her through her pregnancy and birth."

Floyd's family life wasn't devastating or terrible. It just seemed very rocky and going through a very tough time, a lot for a sixteen-year-old to handle. I opened my mouth to say something but was cut off.

"After I was reaped, Ash came in to say goodbye to me. And she said to at least try to win so that she and her baby could live in luxury."

My eyes narrowed in anger. What a selfish creature! Bringing shame into her family and then expecting something huge from the one family member who was going to the arena of death. "Floyd," I said firmly, "don't let your hell of a sister prevent you from trying to win. This can be your chance to show Panem you aren't just... just..." Whatever that came out of my mouth next was sure to be offensive.

"That I'm not just a poor laughable kid from District 12."

"Um, yea."

There was an awkward silence. Then Floyd spoke up, "So what's my personality?"

So far, Floyd seemed like a quiet, lonely kid from the outside but inside he was fiery and had a lot of words to say. I didn't hesitate to reply, "You're surprising, Floyd."

"I'm surprising? What's so good about that?"

I chuckled. "Oh, that's good. Surprising is good. People can't wait to hear more about you, but in order for that to happen, you must win the Games. And the more people want you to be victor, the more sponsors you'd get, Floyd. Do you understand?"

Floyd nodded tentatively. "What I don't understand is how you think I'm surprising. I'm not surprising at all. I'm just a bore."

"No, you're not." Floyd didn't seem convinced. "Okay. Let me prove it to you. Answer my question. What do you think of the Capitol?"

"The Capitol... it's very... um... big?"

"Floyd, relax. Just honestly answer the question."

"The Capitol has a lot of colors? I'm trying, I'm trying," he added hastily as I pursed my lips.

"All right. A lot of colors, you say. What's the most mind-boggling?"

"Razzmatazz," Floyd replied with a straight face.

I barely caught myself from letting out a guffaw. "WHAT?" I couldn't tell him to stay serious though cause this is exactly the kind of "surprising" I had meant.

"Razzmatazz. It's a real color."

I let myself grin. "Good going, Floyd. Be exactly like this and the crowd will love you!"

Floyd didn't loosen up. He bit his fingernails and said nervously, "We're gonna practice more, right?" I told him he didn't really need to, but he insisted we did. "Come on, Katniss, throw me some questions."

I gave in. There was no harm in it, after all, and we had hours ahead of us. I asked him questions that Caesar Flickerman asked the most often, such as "Do you feel confident enough to go in the Games tomorrow?" ("We'll see," Floyd answered with a smirk) and less popular ones like "Is there a certain tribute you are... afraid of?" ("Oh, I think I scare myself more than the other tributes combined are to me," Floyd joked). We finished up pretty quickly.

"See, Floyd. No reason to be nervous. You're a jewel." Floyd grinned sheepishly, revealing a very cute dimple on his left cheek. "Well, you're off the hook til lunchtime."

"Kay. What can I do?"

"Lounge around in your room. Eat. Go in our new computer room." The computer room had rows and rows of computers, laptops, and stuff called "tablets" that I'm barely getting used to since the room was just opened last year.

Floyd was gone within a split second. I wondered if he's been sneaking into that room since training. I smiled at the thought. If he did, he truly was a tribute one should be aware of.

Lunch came sooner than usual. We started at 12:30 since Effie was at the end of her rope with Faye. "Such a rebel," Effie muttered lowly so that only she and I could hear. She was sitting at the head of the table and I was next to her. "She's worse than you were, Katniss. It's a shame, I was so sure the Capitol would be pleased to see a pretty face coming from a grimy place like District 12."

I was used to this kind of talk from Effie, so I didn't bother wasting my breath to defend my home. Amused, I said instead, "Did you tell Faye that?"

"Oh yes. She got all riled up for no reason and refused to do anything I asked her to after that. It was a compliment!"

If Faye was anything like Gale, and she's proven that she was, of course she'd been aggravated. I couldn't chortle just yet, though, since I had her next.

At precisely 2, Effie called us from our break and took Floyd with her. He had a sour face on. Faye's expression wasn't much different. I hadn't even moved an inch before she demanded a thirty minute break in the middle of the lesson.

"We'll see," I shot back. "I'm in charge here, remember?"

"No, you're just a mentor. You're technically not in charge. No one from the districts ever are."

That sounded just like something Gale would have said, so I didn't respond to that.

"Well?" said Faye sharply. "Are you gonna train me here in the kitchen or what? Get a move on, you 'mentor.'" She spit out every syllable for the last word.

Okay. It'd been what, sixty seconds, and I couldn't stand it anymore. "Fine, Faye. You'll get your break. Lucky for you, it isn't just half an hour. It's all this training time. Go."

For a second, Faye looked hurt. I had half a mind to take back what I said since Haymitch had probably been in this position with me, but when she retorted, "Fantastic. I'll have the best four hours of my life. Now back off," I changed my mind. She marched off angrily, only stopping to pick up a whole basket of food to take with her.

I bit my lip, fighting back emotions. Three people from home had asked me to look out for Faye, to root for Faye. And I was failing. I had always dismissed her, ignored her, neglected her, just because of her behavior.

It was unacceptable.

Yet I couldn't call Faye back. She'd never listen to me. So what was I to do for her upcoming live interview?

_Cinna_. He was the one person I could talk to now.

I got up and distractedly walked to a room I assumed was his. But instead of being greeted by Cinna, I was face-to-face with...

Anthul.

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	11. CHAPTER 11: PREPPING PART 2

_**I'm so sorry! It's been like a month since I updated. I take full responsibility of my mistake! School started and I have 3 after school activities, not to mention homework!**_

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Cinna sort of pushed Anthul out and pulled me in before I could utter a word. I distractedly confided my stylist about the problem with Faye, and he agreed to talk to Anthul about it. But then...

"Anthul's still outside waiting for you, Katniss. You can tell him yourself." He grinned and winked. I blushed, trying to cover it as I opened the door.

My breath caught in my throat the the sight of Anthul's eyes. "Anthul," I mumbled, not taking my eyes off him.

He nodded and touched my arm. "Katniss."

I gulped. "Um, I - I was just talking with Cinna. I hope you weren't too busy with him -"

"Oh, no, it's fine. I was just discussing with him about the funeral. President Kritzty ordered us to make it big and formal but not too exciting, so we have to make it just perfect... for Haymitch." _Not the President._

A breath caught in my throat. I still was stunned that Haymitch was gone. Because of a habit, often I'd assume Haymitch was passed out somewhere from too much consumption of alchohol, but after a few hours, it'd wash over me that he was dead. _Dead._

I was feeling a little faint when Cinna called, "Katniss, that _was_ Anthul, wasn't it?"

Anthul responded to his uncle quickly, "We'll be right back, Cinna." Since I really could not recall what I was doing in Cinna's room, I agreed. Anthul delitcately took one of my wrists and lead me out, closing the door behind him. He hadn't noticed the breakdown I almost had. "We're just gonna go to my room to chat. Is that okay?"

"Yea," I said softly and a tad bit quickly.

Anthul opened the door for me. Oh, the gentleman he was. All my cluttered emotions instantly flew out. For the moment, at least. I took a seat on his bed, my fingers tracing the design of the mattress.

We were alone. In a room. Again. The last time this had happened, I'd been kissed and felt happy and sad and guilty about it.

I'd been sitting sideways, so when Anthul took a seat right next to me, we were facing directly at each other. Not that it was uncomfortable. No, it wasn't...

Suddenly I turned pink and looked down. In no time at all, a hand was cupped under my chin and pulled forward. Our lips were just a hairline apart. I was breathless.

Then I pulled away. All sorts of people I loved were in my head now. Haymitch, if he were still here and knew about me and Anthul, would remark, "Sweetheart, do your tributes a favor and wait for the boy when you're done with your job." Gale would look at Anthul disgustedly and be overprotective of me, despite the fact we weren't exactly best friends anymore. Prim and Lare and maybe their kids too would be tracking Anthul's every move.

But what about Peeta? If both Peeta and I had survived the Games, would we still be a couple? Would I have these feelings for Anthul? Would Peeta have approved? I choked back a sob.

"Anthul... I... I..." I couldn't get the right words to explain how I felt, but I didn't want to confide to him either. "I just... can't." I got up, tears brimming in my eyes. I wasn't about to cry because of Anthul, but he didn't know that. I didn't want him to know either. I whispered, "Sorry," and left to my room, where I spent the rest of the horrible day.

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_**Really short, I know, but I'm just so busy! Maybe if I get more reviews, I'll post sooner...? (HINT. HINT.)**_


	12. CHAPTER 12: LIVE WITH CAESAR FLICKERMAN

_**Okay, I just want to point out that I am **__**proud**__** of myself for updating this soon! I have a ton of other things to do but managed to make time for this so please appreciate and do not hate! I'd gotten 2 reviews for the last chapter, instead of just one or even zero, which is why I updated a lot sooner that usual. Well, enjoy!**_

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"Please welcome, the astonishing! The radiant! The legendary... Caesar Flickerman!"

Ol' Caesar levitated from the bottom of the stage, in a pale green scene this time. Honeydew, I think the color is called. His hair, his suit, everything. Since the green really was so pale, it almost seemed as if he was wearing no makeup and had milky white hair that freely flowed about.

I breathed in and out deeply. I was once again getting a sense of _deja vu_. I tried to push that out of my mind and keep my eyes focused on the screen.

Johanna was standing next to me backstage. We were in front of a fairly normal Capitol television, a half-inch 3-D one, taking in what everyone else in Panem was seeing. It was a pretty small TV, though, just 24 inches.

"His face looks young but his hair looks like he's eighty. Oh right, he is eighty," Johanna sneered. I guffawed. By now, Caesar must be _well_ over eighty. But of course he wasn't dead yet. The Capitol's average life span was over a hundred years old.

"If you had no idea about the Capitol's plastic surgeries, how old would you think Caesar was, Brites?" I asked the boy who just joined us. Well, he's a boy to me: just twenty-three years old.

"I'd still think he was over fifty at the least." He squinted. "Their 'natural' theme this year isn't working. At all."

Small palm trees were placed in rows on the stage behind the two fancy lawn chairs that took up the attention before Caesar had arrived. There was a pretty pot of flowers on a priceless little table between the two chairs, and the spotlights and lighting had been pulled down a notch this year. I had to admit I sort of liked how the stage was set up more than the other years, but I commented, "They're so fake, they had no idea that natural was a word until they tried to design this." It just didn't look right.

"At least it's not completely ridiculous," Brites responded. "Remember my year?"

I rolled my eyes. They had planned a "mysterious" theme for the live interviews that year, but instead of having any mystery, they were just totally creepy and insulting. Skeletons hung everywhere, fruits were carved out to make evil faces, and shadows of weapons appeared on the walls. Like the interviews had nothing to do with that. The only thing that said the word "mystery" was the unique shade of blue that Caesar donned.

Caesar Flickerman was done stirring up the crowd and getting many chuckles from people all over Panem. "And now, it's time to meet the..." he trailed off teasingly, cupping an ear with his hand.

"Tributes!" the audience shouted excitedly. Girls screamed and guys pounded their fists.

They make me so sick.

"First, we have the gorgeous gal from District 1, Miss Glimmer!"

My mouth went dry. Glimmer? What? As the girl flounched onstage on a frilly pink flare dress, I nearly had a heart attack. She looked almost like the Glimmer I had killed in my Games!

"Katniss..." Johanna muttered, her eyes stuck on the screen curiously. "She looks sort of familiar, don't you think? She - Katniss?" She'd turned around to look at me. "What?"

"She - she's the - Glimmer - she - she was in my Games! I killed her!"

Johanna gave me a funny look but turned her attention back to the screen as panic rose in me.

"Glimmer!" The audience had shut up and Caesar could finally begin his three minutes with this smiling girl. "My, do you look pretty tonight. Such a beauty you are." Glimmer batted her false eyelashes and flipped back her perfectly curled blonde hair. "I'm sure your stylist was delighted to have you."

Glimmer let out a weird sound that was a mix between a scream and a giggle. "Oh, he was! And Caesar, cross my heart, he could_ not _stop staring at me when we first met!" She sighed, tilted her head, and looked up at the ceiling dreamily. "He's only twenty-two, so when I become Victor, we may... you know..."

"Ooh..." the crowd said hushedly, making Glimmer laugh foolishly.

Of course, that was an easy entrance for Caesar to discuss the upcoming Games and her love life. Then he said the words that will replay in my head for quite a while. "Glimmer, you have an aunt who was in the Games, did you not? And to this day, I remember her interview. Her name was..."

"Glimmer." She took a deep breath. "I was named after my beloved, courageous aunt."

I muttered, "Ugh."

"Glimmer. Glimmer, do you know what had happened to your aunt?"

Tears shone in the blonde's blue eyes. "She was murdered, Caesar. Unfairly." Unfairly? Seriously? The Careers are unfair! The whole Games are unfair!

Caesar looked out at the audience. "Now folks, I don't want to be inconsiderate, but some of us here do know who was the cause of this poor girl's auntie's death."

Glimmer looked absolutely lethal as she hissed, "Katniss Everdeen."

Johanna gasped. She swiveled around with a look of recognition.

"Yes, I do believe it was the Girl on Fire." He looked at the girl from District 1. "Glimmer, would you like to share your thoughts on that."

"Three words: I will revenge."

Caesar took the girl's hands and said solemnly, "Fight to the death, my dear. Fight to the death." He stood up and pulled Glimmer with him. "Give it to the beautiful Glimmer, Panem!" I could literally feel the vibrations all the way backstage.

After that I couldn't really concentrate on the screen anymore. I felt... alive. Every inch of my skin showed goosebumps at the smallest sound behind me. I was aware of every person who walked by us. I wasn't frightened; I was _alive_.

A few tributes before my own managed to take root in my head though. The boy from One was just as big-headed as the girl, if not worse. Once again, the twosome from Two were harsh and held exploding egos, which obviously got them cheers from the oblivious Capitol. The boy from 6, who had gotten a 2 as his training score, turned out to be dyslexic and a bit mental. Even Caesar had difficulty making him admirable. The boy and girl from 9, who were both 18, were humorous, smug, and confident, although they also showed their modesty whenever possible. A few Careers could learn something from them. The girl from 10 was only thirteen and reminded me of Rue: curly dark hair, bright eyes, small frame, shy and young personality. Finally, it was Faye's turn.

I took a deep breath. "I didn't get to work with Faye," I admitted to Brites and Johanna. They raised their eyebrows. "We didn't last two seconds. I hope... Anthul..." I trailed off at the mention of the man's name.

"Damn it, Katniss, shut up," Johanna growled. "Your own tribute is up there and you're not even paying attention."

I clenched my teeth together and glared at her but kept quiet as Faye skidded across the stage. Yes, skidded. I guess she hated heels so much she ditched them and snagged roller skates instead. At least they were blue, which matched her galaxy dress, which resembled the one from the opening ceremonies but in a much formal, elegant way.

"All the tributes' clothes clash with the theme," Johanna observed, smirking.

"Wow! Faye!" Caesar greeted. "Your shoes are quite flashy." This drew laughs from everyone, even a snort from Johanna. I glared at her again. "Did your stylist, oh, what's his name?"

"Anthul," Faye spit out. Her face was pleasant and smiling ever so slightly but I guess she didn't want to control her expression as well as what came out of her mouth.

"Anthul! I doubt he gave you these shoes. Am I right or am I right?" Caesar kidded, but I guess Faye already had enough of it. She got up, waved, skated around to show off her skill for a while, and flew backstage, ditching Caesar Flickerman.

"Talk about rebel!" Johanna roared, amused. "If Haymitch had seen this, he'd like her!"

I had to agree. Would Gale approve, though? Back at District Twelve, is he laughing? Shaking his head? Frustrated? Upset? Whatever. I'll unfortunately be seeing him on Day 3 of the Games, the day of Haymitch's funeral.

"So you didn't train Faye at all?" Brites pressed. He looked disapproving. "You're supposed to, Katniss. Her life is riding on these interviews... get it? _Riding?_ Roller skates?" I punched him hard on the arm, not even kidding. He was a sucker for puns and I wasn't in the mood for one now. "Hey!... Oh, it's Floyd's turn." Caesar had gotten over his shock, said something funny, and called out Floyd.

"Floyd!" Floyd grinned and jogged the rest of the way to the chairs.

"Caesar!" He shook hands with the host and thumped his back. Then he plopped down on his seat. "Wow!"

"Did you have coffee this morning?" Caesar asked jokingly, pointing out his hyperactiveness.

Floyd burst out laughing, which caused everyone else to do as well. He didn't sound like the regular, awkward teen he was days ago. "No! No. Probably something I ate earlier. I wasn't sure what it was and I wanted to know, so why not try it?"

This lead to a full-blast funny conversation about food and drinks of the Capital. Suddenly Floyd said, "It is hot in here," and actually took off his black coat. That lead to another conversation about weather and climate.

Floyd was reminding me so much of Peeta that it hurt. I started getting paranoid, thinking that the spirits had sent me Floyd on the same year as I met Anthul. I wondered if they had some kind of punishment for me for kissing Anthul.

"But I didn't kiss him. He kissed me," I mumbled out loud, trying to calm myself down. I was missing half my tribute's interview.

Johanna turned. "What? Floyd kissed you?" She looked alarmed and disgusted.

She'd heard me! "Jo, no! No - of course I didn't - ugh, Johanna!" I sputtered. She looked suspicious at my unability to form a proper sentence. I sighed. "No, it wasn't Floyd."

"What do you mean, it wasn't Floyd? Do you mean you smooched someone else?" I didn't reply. "Katniss Everdeen, I hope you're lying to me," she snarled. "What about Peeta?"

Brites was looking completely confused.

"Peeta just - he - he's not here," I whispered. Then I started getting snappish. "Peeta is dead, Johanna. He's been dead for twenty years. I think that's long enough for me to get over him and start meeting people, don't you think?"

She narrowed her eyes. I almost cowered at the expresson on her face and what I'd just blurted. "Tell me he's from a district, Katniss, and not a Capitolite."

I held my chin up high and said menacingly, "Anthul is a Capitolite."

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